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The
other is the sheer steepness of life around these parts.
Agostino Giustiniani, a 16th-century priest, described
the area as "precipitous, rocky, arid and dry,
and yet no less full of fertile grapes, which in some
places are gathered by men lowered down on ropes".
It is only when you walk through the villages
steep lanes that you realize how solidly built they
are. The rocks below provide firm foundations. Houses
are painted in carefree rosy pastels and tans, the kind
of hues that are more in tune with the easier lifestyle
of the local people.
 An ancient foot path known as the "Sentiero
Azzurro" follows the coast, joining the
villages and offering superb views of the distinctive
green vineyards that produce the local dry white
Cinque Terre wines.
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